RPG Adults
ALL YE ARE BRETHREN
LORD’S DAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Matthew 23:1-12
Matthew 23:8
“One is your Master, even Christ;
and all ye are brethren.”
ALL YE ARE BRETHREN
Some of us may have brothers and sisters and some may not. We are very proud of a successful brother with a high position in society. Then surely we want to be brethren of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Now we focus on the meaning of brethren in Christ or in God’s family (Phil 1:14; Col 1:2). Do we appreciate this precious and blessed brotherhood?
In Matthew 23, our Lord rebuked the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. They claim to have authority to interpret and teach God’s Word, but they do not practise what they preach. They want to perform their religious duties before the eyes of men to get respect. They appear clean, good, and righteous outwardly, but within is full of hypocrisy and iniquity. They love honoured positions in the synagogues, in the church, at the feasts and love to be called and greeted with a highly respected title like Rabbi (my teacher). Today, we also see religious leaders who want to be the greatest and love the honourable titles, requiring their followers to accept their words, mindset, beliefs and interpretations over against the Word of God.
Our Lord Jesus commands His disciples not to be called “Rabbi” nor “masters.” The term “Master” here is used by our Lord only three times in Matthew 23:8, 10. It means a guide, a teacher, leader, equivalent to rhabbi, a title of respectful address to Jewish teachers (Spiros Zodhiates). Only our Lord deserves to be our great Divine Teacher, great Divine Master and great Divine Leader. To be great in the sight of God, we should humble ourselves and exalt our Lord Jesus and God’s Word alone, follow His example, to serve and not to be served.
Our Lord also commands His disciples not to call any man on the earth “father” (of their spirits or souls). We have fathers of our flesh and we call them “Dad” or “Papa,” and we also have Father of our spirits (Heb 12:9) and we call Him, “Abba,” “Father.” We have only one spiritual Father in heaven, one spiritual Master and Leader, our Lord Jesus Christ, and all of us are brethren.
THOUGHT: Only one Father and one Master, and all are brethren.
PRAYER: Father, please help me to humbly serve and not to be served.